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Pirates PIT

199198–64 (0.605)Made Playoffs
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GM: Larry Doughty

Overview

Ranks vs the 30 teams in 1991, or a custom range (defaults to every team-season since 1985, when our data starts).

to

Front Office

PoorAverageGreat
Value
Payroll $M
$23M
Surplus $M
+4
Win %
0.605
TAB
+13.5
WAB
+16.0
Roster composition
Roster fWAR
47.8
Dead money %
17%
Depth Players
10.0
Dead WAR
-3.7

Offense

PoorAverageGreat

Pitching & Defense

PoorAverageGreat

Roster

1991 depth chart — stacked by playing time

C

LMichael LaValliere105
RDon Slaught69
RTom Prince19
RLloyd McClendon2

1B

LOrlando Merced105
RGary Redus47
RLloyd McClendon22
RCarmelo Martinez⇄11
BBobby Bonilla4
LGary Varsho3
RTom Prince1

2B

RJosé Lind149
BCurtis Wilkerson30
RCarlos García1

3B

BBobby Bonilla67
RJohn Wehner36
RJeff King33
RSteve Buechele⇄31
BCurtis Wilkerson14
RJoe Redfield9
RJeff Richardson3
RCarlos García2
RDon Slaught1

SS

RJay Bell156
BCurtis Wilkerson15
RCarlos García9
RJeff Richardson2

LF

LBarry Bonds150
RLloyd McClendon14
RGary Redus11
LGary Varsho5
BCecil Espy2
LScott Bullett1

CF

LAndy Van Slyke135
BCecil Espy25
RGary Redus12
LGary Varsho5
LBarry Bonds4
LScott Bullett1

RF

BBobby Bonilla104
LGary Varsho45
RLloyd McClendon18
RGary Redus11
BCecil Espy11
LOrlando Merced7
LScott Bullett1

DH

—

Starters

LZane Smith5.0 WAR
RDoug Drabek4.0 WAR
LJohn Smiley3.1 WAR
LRandy Tomlin3.0 WAR
RBob Walk1.4 WAR
LBob Patterson0.7 WAR
LNeal Heaton0.1 WAR
RHector Fajardo⇄0.0 WAR
RPaul Miller0.0 WAR
RRick Reed0.0 WAR
RVicente Palacios-0.6 WAR

Bullpen

★ RBill Landrum17 sv
RStan Belinda0 h
LBob Patterson0 h
LBob Kipper0 h
LNeal Heaton0 h
RRoger Mason0 h
LRosario Rodriguez0 h
RMark Huismann0 h

Each position shows its top 3 by games (top = starter) — click "+more" for the rest. The letter is bats/throws; ⇄ marks a player traded mid-season. Starters are ranked by WAR, bullpen by holds; ★ marks the closer (most save chances). MLB Stats API.

Key additions (new vs 1990)

PlayerfWAR
Gary Varsho1.0
John Wehner0.8
Roger Mason0.5
Steve Buechele0.5
Jeff Banister0.1
Hector Fajardo0.0

Key subtractions (gone from 1990)

Player1990 fWAR
Sid Bream3.2
Wally Backman1.4
R.J. Reynolds0.4
Ted Power0.3
Scott Ruskin0.3
Mike York0.1

Contract Value

WAR translated into tier-adjusted market value, then compared with what the player was paid by Pirates. Guaranteed contracts from the 2015-present contract-data period use the known contract period through 1991; everyone else is shown as a 1991 season snapshot.

PlayerPeriodfWARTier Market $MPaid $MSurplus $M$ / WARTierContract
Barry Bonds 1991 +7.8 +127.3 2.3 +125.0 $0.3M 2.05× –
Zane Smith 1991 +5.0 +87.6 2.2 +85.3 $0.4M 2.19× –
Doug Drabek 1991 +4.0 +69.7 3.4 +66.4 $0.8M 2.19× –
Bobby Bonilla 1991 +4.7 +67.3 2.4 +64.9 $0.5M 1.79× –
Andy Van Slyke 1991 +3.7 +53.0 2.2 +50.8 $0.6M 1.79× –
John Smiley 1991 +3.1 +48.9 1.1 +47.9 $0.3M 1.96× –
Randy Tomlin 1991 +3.0 +47.0 0.1 +46.9 $0.0M 1.96× –
Jay Bell 1991 +4.4 +46.7 0.4 +46.3 $0.1M 1.32× –
Don Slaught 1991 +2.2 +13.4 0.8 +12.7 $0.3M 0.76× –
Michael LaValliere 1991 +2.0 +11.9 1.0 +10.9 $0.5M 0.76× –
Bob Walk 1991 +1.4 +11.2 0.8 +10.4 $0.6M 1.02× –
Bill Landrum 1991 +0.9 +9.4 0.8 +8.5 $0.9M 1.34× –
Gary Varsho 1991 +1.0 +6.4 0.2 +6.2 $0.2M 0.83× –
Jose Lind 1991 +1.2 +5.4 0.6 +4.8 $0.5M 0.56× –
Bob Patterson 1991 +0.7 +3.7 0.3 +3.4 $0.5M 0.67× –
Lloyd McClendon 1991 +0.7 +3.0 0.3 +2.8 $0.4M 0.56× –
Steve Buechele↔ 1991 +0.5 +2.5 0.2 +2.3 $0.3M 0.58× –
Tom Prince 1991 +0.5 +2.3 0.1 +2.2 $0.2M 0.52× –
Gary Redus 1991 +0.3 +1.5 0.6 +0.9 $1.7M 0.56× –
Jeff King 1991 +0.2 +1.1 0.2 +0.9 $0.9M 0.58× –
Jeff Richardson 1991 -0.0 -0.1 0.1 -0.2 – 0.58× –
Neal Heaton 1991 +0.1 +0.4 1.0 -0.6 $14.1M 0.67× –
Jose Gonzalez↔ 1991 -0.1 -1.0 0.0 -1.0 – 0.83× –
Carmelo Martinez↔ 1991 -0.3 -1.1 0.1 -1.2 – 0.56× –
Bob Kipper 1991 -0.3 -1.4 0.8 -2.3 – 0.67× –
Vicente Palacios 1991 -0.6 -3.1 0.1 -3.3 – 0.67× –
Curtis Wilkerson 1991 -0.7 -3.3 0.5 -3.7 – 0.56× –
Stan Belinda 1991 -0.3 -3.6 0.2 -3.8 – 1.34× –
Mitch Webster↔ 1991 -0.7 -4.4 0.3 -4.7 – 0.83× –
Carlos Garcia 1991 -0.1 -0.5 – – – 0.61× –
Cecil Espy 1991 -0.0 -0.1 – – – 0.83× –
Hector Fajardo↔ 1991 +0.0 +0.4 – – – 1.02× –
Jeff Banister 1991 +0.1 +0.3 – – – 0.65× –
Jeff Schulz 1991 -0.1 -0.4 – – – 0.83× –
Joe Redfield 1991 -0.2 -0.7 – – – 0.58× –
John Wehner 1991 +0.8 +3.5 – – – 0.58× –
Mark Huismann 1991 +0.1 +0.6 – – – 0.67× –
Orlando Merced 1991 +2.6 +21.9 – – – 1.07× –
Paul Miller 1991 +0.0 +0.1 – – – 1.02× –
Rick Reed 1991 +0.0 +0.3 – – – 1.02× –
Roger Mason 1991 +0.5 +2.9 – – – 0.67× –
Rosario Rodriguez 1991 -0.1 -0.8 – – – 1.34× –
Scott Bullett 1991 -0.3 -1.8 – – – 0.83× –
Total—+47.7+627.423.1+578.7—

Trades

Every graded 1991 deal involving the Pirates — best expected value first. Surplus is realized value in $M; 8 total.

1991 · CLE / PIT
CLE · Hank Peters +$9.6M
Mike York
PIT · Larry Doughty −$9.6M
Mitch Webster
CLE came out ahead by $9.6M
1991 · PIT / KCR
PIT · Larry Doughty +$4.0M
Victor Cole
KCR · Herk Robinson −$4.0M
Carmelo Martínez
PIT came out ahead by $4.0M
1991 · PIT / MIN
PIT · Larry Doughty +$0.0M
Joey Meyer
MIN · Andy MacPhail +$0.0M
Greg Sims
Even trade
1991 · PIT / BAL
PIT · Larry Doughty +$0.8M
Tony Beasley
BAL · Roland Hemond −$0.8M
Tommy Shields
PIT came out ahead by $0.8M
1991 · CHC / PIT
CHC · Jim Frey +$1.6M
Steve Carter
PIT · Larry Doughty −$1.6M
Gary Varsho
CHC came out ahead by $1.6M
1991 · PIT / SDP
PIT · Larry Doughty +$0.0M
Brian Dorsett
SDP · Joe McIlvaine +$0.0M
Lynn Carlson
Even trade
1991 · PIT / LAD
PIT · Larry Doughty +$7.2M
Jose Gonzalez
LAD · Fred Claire −$7.2M
Mitch Webster
PIT came out ahead by $7.2M
1991 · TEX / PIT
TEX · Tom Grieve +$4.8M
Kurt Miller, Héctor Fajardo
PIT · Larry Doughty −$4.8M
Steve Buechele
TEX came out ahead by $4.8M

Current & Historical Payroll

1991 payroll
$23.0M

What the front office was committed to as of 1991, 1991–1997. Pre-2015 has no contract-terms data — forward italic $ are realized actuals (hindsight, not commitments known then). Control labels (ARB/FA) are point-in-time.

current $ guaranteed $ actual $ (hindsight) arbitration (proj) pre-arb (proj) free agent

Guaranteed / signed (17)

PlayerAgeSvc1991199219931994199519961997
Zane Smith307.000$2.2M$2.5M$2.7M$3.1MFREE AGENT$400k
Andy Van Slyke308.000$2.2M$4.3M$4.9M$3.5MFREE AGENT
Michael LaValliere307.000$1.0M$1.9M$2.3MFREE AGENT
Neal Heaton319.000$1.0MFREE AGENT
Bob Walk3411.000$850k$2.0M$2.2MFREE AGENT
Bob Kipper266.000$835kFREE AGENT
Don Slaught329.000$767k$1.7M$1.1M$1.5M$2.0MFREE AGENT
Gary Redus349.000$600k$825kFREE AGENT
Curtis Wilkerson308.000$450kFREE AGENT
Bob Patterson326.000$325k$785kFREE AGENT
Mitch Webster328.000$252kFREE AGENT
Steve Buechele296.000$158k$1.4MFREE AGENT
Carmelo Martinez308.000$94kFREE AGENT
Jose Gonzalez266.000$49kFREE AGENT
Cecil Espy288.000—$250kFREE AGENT
Mark Huismann338.000—FREE AGENT
Roger Mason337.000—$225kFREE AGENT

Arbitration-eligible (12)

PlayerAgeSvc1991199219931994199519961997
Doug Drabek285.000$3.4MFREE AGENT
Bobby Bonilla285.000$2.4MFREE AGENT
Barry Bonds265.000$2.3MFREE AGENT
John Smiley265.000$1.1MFREE AGENT
Bill Landrum335.000$820kFREE AGENT
Jose Lind274.000$575kARB 3FREE AGENT
Jay Bell255.000$380kFREE AGENT
Lloyd McClendon324.000$260kARB 3FREE AGENT
Gary Varsho303.000$155kARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Vicente Palacios274.000$125kARB 3FREE AGENT
Tom Prince264.000$118kARB 3FREE AGENT
Rick Reed263.000—ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT

Pre-arbitration (14)

PlayerAgeSvc1991199219931994199519961997
Jeff King262.000$215kARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Stan Belinda242.000$190kARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Randy Tomlin251.000$120kPre-ArbARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Jeff Richardson252.000$105kARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Jeff Banister27–—
Scott Bullett220.000—Pre-ArbPre-ArbARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Hector Fajardo200.000—Pre-ArbPre-ArbARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Carlos Garcia231.000—Pre-ArbARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Orlando Merced241.000—Pre-ArbARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Paul Miller260.000—Pre-ArbPre-ArbARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Joe Redfield30–—
Rosario Rodriguez212.000—ARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Jeff Schulz302.000—ARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
John Wehner240.000—Pre-ArbPre-ArbARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT

Graphs

How each 1991 acquisition stacked onto Pirates's playoff-odds curve. The side table is ranked by PPA.

Rosternomics — front-office performance, roster value, and transaction history. Follow @rosternomics on X.
Decision-maker records extend to 1933; resource-controlled WAR and payroll metrics cover 1985–2026. Data sources include FanGraphs, Baseball-Reference, the Chadwick Bureau register, the Lahman Database, prospect rankings from Baseball America, MLB Pipeline, and FanGraphs, and public payroll records. Transaction and trade data was obtained free of charge from and is copyrighted by Retrosheet. Executive birth/death data via Wikidata (CC0).
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